Today is a day to do last minute errands, to put a vacation message on my email and to do the same on my phone. This afternoon, Evelyn and I will have to figure out how to fit our suitcases and all the materials we need to bring to this retreat in my car. I’ll […]
Writing as a Pathway: The Calm Before the Retreat Read More »
Over the past two weeks, Evelyn and I have sat and talked through the different phases of our upcoming retreat. We’ve reviewed the three sections of the retreat that I first developed with my friend and colleague Nancy London: Grieving, Uncertainty, and Transformation, the rough stages involved in integrating major life changes. During the first
Behind the Scenes: Getting Ready for a Writing Retreat: Overplan, Then Let Go Read More »
One of the most important things about creating a powerful, transformative retreat is building a safe environment in which the work of the retreat can unfold. That’s why for an intensive writing retreat—one whose goal is deep writing and internal work—the setting is so important. It’s one of the reasons I love teaching at the
Behind the Scenes: Getting Ready for a Writing Retreat: Building the Container Read More »
Friday marks the start of my first “Writing as a Pathway Through Grief, Loss, Transition and Change” retreat since before the pandemic. This is a retreat I created with my colleague Nancy London and co-taught with Nancy and David Colin Carr for several years. I was inspired to create it after my mother died in
Behind the Scenes: Getting Ready for a Writing Retreat: Introducing Writing as a Pathway Read More »
I’m sitting on one of the old, soft couches in the lobby area of Newbold House, in the midst of all of my belongings. My soft black duffel bag is packed to the brim. I’m surrounded by a variety of outerwear since I don’t know what today’s weather will bring. To my right, my backpack
Virtual Vacation: Homeward Bound, Day 18 Read More »
We have entered the final days of our retreat. There is talk of taxis to the airport, last minute gifts, the loved ones we left behind, and the things we will be facing back home. People are letting in the reality that we will soon be saying goodbye to Scotland, to Newbold House, and to
Virtual Vacation: Final Days, Day 16 Read More »
The basic schedule of this retreat, (on the days we aren’t heading out on a major outing) is writing group in the morning, free time all afternoon between lunch and dinner, and writing class in the evening. Open afternoons are important—they give people time to digest, to integrate, to spend time alone, to enjoy new
Virtual Vacation: Life At Newbold: Living In Community, Day 15 Read More »
(Dear Readers: This is another high-density post with lots of photos. You may need to let it load for a while before you come back and read it–Laura). Today was one of the “Seeing Scotland” days on our trip. Our first stop was Clava Cairns, a Bronze Age, 4000-year-old archeological site with burial cairns and
Virtual Vacation: Macbeth and High Tea, Day 14 Read More »
Every morning at 7:35 AM, there is meditation up in the sanctuary at Newbold House. It’s for the residents of the house, but as guests, we are all invited. After the meditation is a half hour of Taize singing—devotional singing from around the world, sung in four-part harmony. I showed up for meditation and singing
Virtual Vacation, Angels In Our Midst, Day 13 Read More »
(Note to readers: This post has a LOT of pictures. Let it load for a while and then come back to read it.) Since I knew we were scheduled to go on an outing today—to the Nairn Highland Games—I gave this homework at the end of writing class this morning: “Find out something specific about
Virtual Vacation: Viking in a Kilt, Day 12 Read More »
This morning in writing group, I gave some instruction in close observation and then sent everyone out into the garden in silence. I asked them to choose one square foot of nature, something they found beautiful (a flower, a kale plant, a turned bed in the garden), and to sit in front of it, observing
Virtual Vacation, Learning to See, Learning to Listen, Day 11 Read More »
The Findhorn Foundation describes itself as, “a spiritual community, ecovillage and international center for holistic education,” Their mission is to “help unfold a new human consciousness and create a positive and sustainable future.” Elly, who led our opening ceremony, took us on our tour of Findhorn last night. It was a pleasant evening with a
Virtual Vacation: The Magic of Findhorn, The Magic of The Pub, Day 10 Read More »
Our writing retreat officially began last night with a surprise—a traditional Scottish welcome. We all passed under these swords, were given a handshake and an ancient Celtic greeting, had some delicious snacks, and if we wanted it, a bit of whiskey. After a wonderful salmon dinner, we had an opening ceremony, Findhorn-style, led by Newbold
Virtual Vacation: Our Writing Circle Has Begun, Day 9 Read More »
On my last free afternoon before the retreat was due to begin, Eileene and I decided to hike out to the local distillery for a tour. Christopher from Newbold House gave me a long set of walking instructions that included passing over a dam without water, keeping a stream that we hardly ever saw on
Virtual Vacation: On The Road To The Distillery, Day 8 Read More »
Some things need to be seen and experienced to be truly felt, and Newbold House is one of them. I’d been looking at pictures of Newbold House for months, but seeing it two-dimensionally in pixels didn’t compare to the visceral experience of walking inside the big front doors and feeling the grounded power of the
Virtual Vacation: Welcome to Newbold House, Day 7 Read More »
